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(CNS): Changes to the legislation at the end of last year to make asylum claims more difficult for irregular migrants have enabled the Cayman Islands Government to speed up the deportation process for Cuban migrants whose claims have been denied. The CI Customs and Border Control Service (CBC) repatriated six Cuban men from Grand Cayman to Havana on Tuesday, 18 April, on a chartered Cayman Airways SAAB aircraft.
After a period with almost no repatriations, this group of six follows ten Cubans deported in March and 15 in February. While there was a steady stream of migrants arriving during the second half of 2022, none have entered Cayman waters since mid-January, though it is not clear if the changes here have been a deterrent or whether other geo-political forces are at work.
“This sends another clear message that our repatriation operations will continue until all migrants that have been denied asylum are returned to their country of nationality,” CBC Director Charles Clifford said. “Irregular migrants, like all persons living in the Cayman Islands, are subject to the laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands and may be prosecuted if they commit an offence.”
There are currently around 240 migrants still in Cayman who are still going through the process of claiming asylum.
Meanwhile, this latest group to be deported will be returning to Cuba as it continues to suffer significant economic challenges, with acute shortages of food and medicine. The pandemic decimated tourism and contributed to the second-largest economic contraction in Latin America.
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